The Sea Odyssey Giant Spectacular has gone down in history as one of the most amazing spectacles ever seen on the streets of Liverpool.

It helped to seal the city’s reputation as one of the best places in the world to stage large-scale outdoor events.

The ambitious piece of street theatre was created by the Nantes-based French company Royal de Luxe as part of Liverpool’s commemorations for the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic.

The 30ft Little Girl Giant, her nine foot dog, Xolo, and the 50ft Giant Uncle/Diver captured the imaginations of all those who witnessed their procession through the streets, and continues to live in the memory 12 months later.

Over three days, the poignant story was played out against the backdrop of some of the city’s best known landmarks.

During that time, word of mouth gradually increased until the spectacle gained both national and international exposure, making it the most successful event in the city’s history.

Liverpool's cabinet member for culture and tourism Cllr Wendy Simon said: “People didn’t quite know what to expect but it exceeded all expectations and brought the feel-good factor to the city.”

The figures speak for themselves: the weekend- long event attracted 800,000 people to the city and had an economic impact of £32m.

For retailers the Saturday was the busiest day of the year including Christmas, while Liverpool One saw its sales increase by 25% on last year, and there was a 99% hotel occupancy rate.

For the woman who was instrumental in helping to bring Sea Odyssey to the city, its legacy has been “overwhelmingly positive”. Claire McColgan, director of Culture Liverpool, said: “What Sea Odyssey did was put us at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts when it came to big public events.

“Places as far afield as Tel Aviv and Sydney have since sought our advice on how we did it.

“It’s important as a city to remind people how great you are. Events like these cost a lot of money, but they also bring in a lot of money. We want to create things that bring economic benefit but also move people.”

There is still plenty to look forward to this year with the city’s inaugural literary festival, In Other Words, starting on Tuesday, the re-opening of Central Library next month after its £50m refurbishment, the 70th anniversary commemorations for the Battle of the Atlantic, the revived River Festival, and the new Liverpool International Music Festival.